Eamon Ryan: Schools will stay open even if country goes to Covid-19 Level 4

Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport, Eamon Ryan TD. File picture. 

Schools will remain open even if Level Four Covid restrictions have to be introduced, Green Party leader and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said.

Speaking today at the conclusion of his party’s convention, held online, Mr Ryan said that even if wider restrictions have to be applied to contain the pandemic, the Government’s absolute priority is to keep more than 1 million school children in the classroom.

“Yes the government is very committed to seeing the schools remain open. 

We are not seeing huge instances because of the schools coming back. 

"The international evidence is that it can be done safely, our schools have done a good job,” Mr Ryan said.

“The health damage done if we weren’t able to have our children go to school would out outweigh the benefits of closing them so we will keep them open,” he said.

Mr Ryan said he agreed with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar that there has been too much focus on the daily figures related to Covid deaths and cases and said the trends are far more important.

“He is right about the daily figures and you don’t look at the daily figure you look at the trend, the five day, the seven-day trend,” he said.

“It is a very difficult situation which will see us slightly adjusting our behaviour,” he added.

He also said the Government strategy is now to stabilise the virus rather than trying to eradicate it, which is at odds with the advice of some epidemiologists.

The Green Party leader said the country must do all it can to avoid elevating restrictions to level 4

“While the numbers have continued to rise, they are not as fast a rate as they were. The restrictions in place in Dublin and Donegal will see that stabilise. 

And what we are seeking to do here, is not to eradicate the virus, that’s not a viable option, but to stabilise it.

"Yes, there is real concern in other counties, it is rising very fast. But we have to do the simple things, reduce the number of people we meet, avoid social contact. If we can do all of that I think we can avoid going to level 4,” he said.

“I hope Dublin can get back to level 2 and Donegal too,” he said.

The Government intends to spend at least €1m every day on cycling and walking infrastructure in the upcoming budget, the Green Party leader also announced.

Eamon Ryan said that he also expects to target three quarters “of the massively enhanced retrofitting budget” on low income and social housing.

Urgency of response

Speaking at the Green Party’s National Convention this evening, he said: "If Covid-19 has reminded us of anything it is surely that we are not immune to threats that come from stress to our natural world.

We need to show the same urgency in our response to the climate and biodiversity crisis that we used in response to the pandemic.

“In this bigger crisis, there is no vaccine or recovery plan that can protect us. We have to act now, and I am confident that the Irish People and our Government will be up to it."

The next year, Mr Ryan said, is critical if we are to avoid climate catastrophe.

In a bid to prevent ecological collapse, next week, the Green Party will introduce a new Climate Action Amendment Bill. The legislation aims to make Ireland carbon neutral by 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 7 per cent per annum for the next ten years.

"My ambition is to have the bill enacted in time for the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Climate Accord by the 15th of December next,” Mr Ryan said.

But Ireland must also work internationally to prevent irreversible environmental damage and the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow will either "change the course of history and introduce a sustainable economic system or else fail and allow the destruction of our natural world,” he said.

A circular economy which would reduce waste at source and encourage recycling has already been introduced by the Greens in Government this year which is working to stem plastic pollution and reduce costs to consumers, he said.

Also speaking at the convention, Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, the Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said that this year has been hugely challenging.

"This has been a year like no other, for our planet, our society, our global community – and for us in the Green Party," she said.

"It has been a year filled with incredible challenges and heart-breaking tragedy. Covid-19 has caused pain, isolation and has hit many of the most vulnerable in our society in the cruellest way possible. But we as a people have proudly banded together to protect each other.

"As Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, the Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, I am acutely aware of the impact of this pandemic on those under my remit - artists, the tourism sector, sport from every level from the elite to the local community. They were the first to be hit, and they will be the last to recover."

The impact on the most vulnerable in society, those who are homeless or in direct provision, has also been horribly heavy, she said.

The elderly and the chronically ill have also suffered with worry, anxiety, loneliness and disconnection due to Covid, she said.

"The pandemic is testing our resolve, our resilience as a nation, as a people like never before," she said. "It is important whilst we have robust debate and question decisions, that we as a country, as a people, pull together.

"Now is definitely not the time for any political opportunism," the deputy leader said.